The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 115 pharmacies and 319 patent medicine shops in Plateau for violating laid down rules and guidelines.
The Director of Enforcement of the PCN, Stephen Esumobi, made this known on Friday in Jos, while briefing newsmen.
He said the national enforcement team of the PCN had been in the state since July 4, for enforcement.
Esumobi, said that the facilities were sealed due to various offences ranging from operating without registration with the PCN, failure to renew premises licence, dispensing ethical products including substance of abuse without the supervision of a pharmacist.
The director said that some of the sealed shops carried out activities beyond the scope of their licence and poor storage and sanitary conditions.
”A lot of these patent medicine vendors are not registered with the PCN and they operated in total breach of the council’s regulations.
”These unregistered premises have become channels for the distribution and sale of substances of abuse to members of the public.
”The primary goal of the unregistered premises is to make profit because they do have not have regards for the safety of the public who patronise them,” he said.
Esumobi pointed out that patent medicine shops have been licenced by the PCN to sell over the counter medicines in line with the approved drug list and it was an offence for the vendors to sell ethical medicines including substance of abuse.
He further revealed that during the enforcement exercise, the team observed that many wholesale pharmacies were not registered and were operating illegally without pharmacists to supervise the pharmaceutical operations.
Esumobi said the council has stepped up its activities to ensure that all unregistered premises are closed down.
He cautioned members of the public to ensure they purchase their medicines from licensed pharmacies and simple household remedies from licensed patent medicine shops.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two vendors were arrested for breaking the PCN seals.(NAN)
